Welcome to the Top Sounds website, the online home of a UK based record label specializing in the excavation and legitimate release of rare and unreleased music from the 1960s and early 70s. Born out of a mix of ambition and frustration and a long term love affair with the music of the era, the label sets out to present otherwise unavailable audio treasures with an overriding emphasis on informative and immaculate presentation.

A Top Sounds release - our first ‘Alphabeat’ being a vivid example - is the consummation of months of research and the tracking down of obscure music, the locating and subsequent input / co-operation of musicians concerned and then the labour of creating a period flavoured package that does justice to the lost gems unearthed. The music is professionally restored to the best standards possible and the relevant official bodies are paid, and all this will help to explain why a Top Sounds release takes longer to realize than ‘Sgt. Pepper’!

The label was instigated and is run by Nigel Lees, who began seriously collecting 60s records in 1981 at the ripe young age of 12. As with most who trod a similar path I began with the established artists of the era, though I always remember 1982 as a pivotal year when from the famed ‘Collector’s Records’ store in Blackpool I bought ‘Revolution’ by Tomorrow and ‘Making Time’ by the Creation [leaving a mint copy of Kaleidoscope’s ‘Tangerine Dream’ at the same time because my pocket money wouldn’t stretch to the enormous £25 asked!]. Co-inciding with the embryonic compilations that were appearing at the time [Action, Misunderstood, John’s Children etc] and the reading of one or two key publications, the ball indeed began to roll…………. MORE »